How to Sing Better…

Posted on May 31, 2011 by Susan McAllister-Bee

If you have tried to learn how to sing better by reading information online, or by purchasing online products, then you have noticed that a lot of the information out there differs and it can be confusing. How is a singer suppose to know what is actually going to help them sing better? I have outlined some points below that may help.

Compare singing well to having a body that is in good shape. A good singer would be like a fit body. There are various shapes and sizes of fit bodies. Some are short, some are tall, some are muscular while others are not so. But, they are all “fit”.

Getting fit with singing means balancing your low voice, with your middle voice, with your high voice. In other words, a strong and consistent voice through your entire singing range….much like a fit body would have the correct balance of lean muscle versus fat content.

Where things get confusing is when we bring “style” into the concept of singing.

Consider this. Let’s say some fit people focus on their biceps, while other fit people focus on their chest. Then there are some fit people who work harder on their 6-pack, while others still work overtime on their back muscles. The one thing the all have in common is that they are first and foremost…fit. They look good everywhere, but some look extra muscular in a certain area.

If you use this analogy with singing, then you realize that every good singer must be fit first. Again, this means being able to ascend and descend through their entire singing range without strain or breaks. Once a singer is fit, then they can sing in any style they choose from classical to rock. This enables the singer to get “extra” fit in some areas.

Before you rock out, you need to know that you are singing well through your bridges, and then you learn to style in rock. Rock singing can be very damaging on the vocal cords, so being fit and staying fit is absolutely necessary. If you are a classically trained singer then you may be more fit in your upper register, but you may want to style in another genre of music. Blues, jazz and pop singers all have a stronger chest tone in their middle voice, while classical singers generally have more head tone in their middle voice. These differences are all about style.

What happened to Christine Aguilera?

Posted on May 19, 2011 by Susan McAllister-Bee

You probably heard the gossip surrounding Christine Aguilera’s mix-up of the words of Star-Spangled Banner at the Super Bowl. You can revisit that performance here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OpCFpYLPw74 I would like to talk about that performance, but not about the words she messed up, but rather her voice.

First, let me say I am a big fan. She is one-of-a-kind. I have heard her perform at times extremely well (You tube – live video concerts) and other times, not so well. This performance was definitely the latter. It is clear that she was not able to get into a good mix as she ascended in pitch during the song. She probably recognized that she was “pulling too much weight”, and things weren’t just right. This may be the reason she messed up the words. It can definitely be distracting when you find yourself in the middle of song, giving it everything you have, and knowing that there’s no backing down now, you have to get to the big finish, you have to get to that big note…….and…..well, what happened in Christina’s case, is that she had to flip and sing the biggest note in the song in her head voice. I’m sure that was not her plan.

What went wrong? Well, a number of things could have gone wrong. Maybe she had a virus and her cords were slightly swollen. Maybe she didn’t prep her mix well enough before the performance. I wouldn’t think she would go into the performance unprepared, but my guess is she belted with too much volume in the beginning of the song, such as the words “by” the dawn’s early light. These heavy chest tones can immediately unbalance the voice and make it difficult to get into your head voice. This song is in the key of F and the main belting note that she sang over and over is the A above middle C. I think the fact that she pick this key was detrimental for her. The key of G would have put her over her bridge slightly at the belting note, and possibly made it easier to be in the mix. In other words, she could have actually been singing higher, and not have had to flip. She would have been able to carry the chest in the mix all the way up to D above middle C no problem.

Top 10 reasons music lessons with Music for Young Children is a better choice than traditional private.

Posted on September 17, 2010 by Susan McAllister-Bee

1. Learning to play a musical instrument can be a lonely venture. In MYC, parents and peers share in their musical experiences. Experiences that will be remembered forever.
2. In MYC, students are motivated to practise and move ahead at a steady pace. This is done with incentives and an age-appropriate curriculum that has been successful for over 30 years.
3. In MYC, students typically graduate with higher marks in conservatory exams, and they do this at a younger age.
4. In MYC, students don’t just learn the piano, they learn the language of music. This knowledge stays with them forever as they go on to learn other instruments.
5. In MYC, we keep learning music fun. We play games and sing songs to help us remember concepts.
6. MYC encourages students to play music with others. That is why we play scales and some songs together. This encourages the student to listen and play at the same time.
7. In MYC, lessons are very cost-effective. Lessons are one-hour long and cost about the same as a half-hour traditional private lesson.
8. In MYC, students make music friends.
9. In MYC, students learn how to chord and play by ear. This is an important element of music training. Most traditional lessons focus on sight-reading alone.
10. We all know that learning to play a musical instrument is not a easy thing to do. In MYC, the success rate of graduate students going on to private study and taking what they have learned to the next level is huge. These students are smarter. These students have learned so much. These students are your children!

How far did you go with your piano lessons?

Posted on March 7, 2010 by Susan McAllister-Bee

Boy, times have changed! I don’t recall a lot of exciting times at my music lessons while I was growing up. How about you? Did you take music lessons? Did you continue? Did you enjoy them?

A very high percentage of people are going to say they took music lessons for a few years and then quit. Why did you quit? The majority will say the process was difficult and boring. It continued to get more challenging and you didn’t have the motivation to keep at it.

Today children can learn music in a very different way. This CBC news video of a Music for Young Children class in Summerside, PEI, Canada, is a good example of how kids are learning today. http://www.cbc.ca/video/#/News/Canada/PEI/ID=1430244648

OK, so get this. This video is level 1 students as young as 3 and 4 years old learning music and piano. Each year these kids move up the ranks of the MYC curriculum and around age 8 and 9 they reach the top level and graduate with Grade 1 piano and Preliminary Rudiments! This is highly unusual unless you are a Music for Young Children student! Visit www.myc.com for more information.

Your comments are welcome. Let me know what you think! Susan

Hockey or Music lessons for boys?

Posted on February 15, 2010 by Susan McAllister-Bee

Huge decision. In Southwestern Ontario hockey is no doubt the most popular sport for boys, and probably girls too. If a boy doesn’t grow up knowing how to play hockey, then he might as well move to …. well, you know what I mean. It’s not uncommon for a hockey schedule to take up two nights a week and all day Saturday. Where can you possibly fit another extra-curricular activity in?

Do you consider music education an extra-curricular activity? Some parents don’t. Let’s realize that music education is not being taught in the classroom to the extent it once was. Some schools have abandoned their music program all together. This is a sad and unfortunate truth.

Luckily, some parents realize music education is necessary to ensure that their children learn the skills necessary to read music and play a music instrument.

Canada can thank an infamous Frances Belodis for creating Music for Young Children (myc.com). This program allows parents to be involved with their child’s musical journey in a fun and in-depth way. The graduation rate of students from the MYC program is phenomenal. Unlike when you were growing up, MYC students are much more likely to continue their musical journey throughout their life.

So, when trying to choose between hockey or music, consider both. Your child will thank you.

Why Music for Young Children?

Posted on December 26, 2009 by Susan McAllister-Bee

There are many reasons to choose a MYC program over a typical piano teacher. Here are just a few:

Students as young as 6 know how to make and use the Circle of 5th’s (from logic)…….not just by memorizing what to write down! Does your music teacher?
Students as young as 5 are learning “harmony”. MYC teaches I, IV and V7 chord progressions to be used in any key signature. This means students can play songs without looking at a music book. Can your music teacher?
MYC is fun! 30 years of world-wide success can’t be wrong!!

Freedom to improv….

Posted on December 13, 2009 by Susan McAllister-Bee

Have you ever seen an amazing pianist perform flawlessly when they are given a piece of music, but if you take the music away they are really stuck? It is very common to get carried away with the technical side of things. Let’s face it, Bach and Mozart wanted you to play their music exactly as it was written.

There is no doubt that technique is a vital component to playing music, however does technique give you the elements to be creative on your own? Here at the Bee Music Studios we teach creativity and improvisation as well.

In the Music for Young Children program, children are learning to chord as young as 5 years of age. That’s right……..they are playing Hot Crossed Buns, or Jingle Bells, or Mary Had a Little Lamb with no music!! It’s really not that difficult.

The key is learning to listen and play patterns and chords in I, IV and V with no music. Here in the Music for Young Children program, that’s exactly what they are doing, along with reading music. Both aspects are key elements in the develop of a strong foundation of music understanding.

Your comments are appreciated……..Have a great holiday! Susie